Chapter 713: Familiar [Ko-fi Donation Bonus Chapter]
'Is it a Dungeon?' Sylas frowned.
The Basilisk King was quite intelligent, and Sylas could read its thoughts and intentions quite well, but there was something off.
When the Basilisk King mentioned the word "Dungeon", it was doing so vaguely as though that was just the best method it had to describe it, but it also knew that this wasn't exactly accurate either.
Sylas did some more thinking, and dug through the Basilisk King's memories a bit before he found the issue.
He kicked off the bottom of the volcano and soared upward until he found was he was looking for.
'There's a barrier here. But how did I pass so smoothly?'
Sylas' expression couldn't help but change. The barrier was powerful, exceedingly so. So powerful that even his own Rune Essence comprehension wouldn't be able to manipulate it like he had the Grimblade formation.
The only reason he had been able to manipulate that formation so easily was because it was simply too weak. The number of the Foundations was only 30, and it wasn't forged to a Breath Mastery level, so it was very malleable.
Formations of that scale that weren't formed to at least Breath Mastery had to rely on Aether Stone deposits to function. Because the power of the Runes was external rather than internal, it left them very susceptible to being pushed and pulled by a more direct force.
By comparison, a Rune with Breath Mastery was self-sustaining. If part of a large mesh network of Runes like they would be in a large formation, it could push against the intentions of an outsider and stop outright manipulation.
This barrier that Sylas had passed through without even noticing, was forged not only of 40 Foundation Runes, but about 40% of it was forged to Breath of Mastery levels.
This was almost enough for nearly every other Rune in the mesh to be self-sustaining, so it was likewise far more resistant to outside interference.
There was no one on Earth who should be capable of this... at the very least, Sylas doubted that there was someone on Earth capable of this that wasn't also part of a massive power. And such a massive power would have already locked this entire region down. Why set up a formation like this instead?
In that case, there seemed to only be one explanation for it all.
Sylas' palm suddenly flipped over and a badge he had all but forgotten about appeared in his palm.
This badge... he had found it on Azrael's body, the Level 15 that had almost killed him back when he tried to clear his first Demon Village all on his own.
As expected, not only did the badge not disintegrate beneath the heat, but Sylas sensed a resonance between it and the barrier.
Never did Sylas think that this badge would become so useful to him. But by the same token, became unprecedently serious.
The Sylphs should already know that Azrael was dead. It had been more than just a handful of months since that incident. How could they not prepare for this? Were they so incompetent? Or...?
'As free as the Sylphs seem on Earth, they are restricted by many things. Why did they set up such a large formation instead of just directly mining it all?'
All signs pointed toward things in the Sylphs' upper echelon being far more complicated than Sylas knew.
When he had gone to the Sylph Dungeon, Sylphs had inexplicably ended up dead. It was clear there was some internal strife going on here, and there seemed to be various parties of the Sylphs all vying for Earth.
An ore deposit as valuable as Metarock should be precisely the sort of thing outsiders would want from Earth to begin with. So what would happen if it was jointly found by Sylphs of several different factions? How would they divvy it up?
Or maybe... they would hide it away from the pitiful humans first, then decide how to divvy it up once Earth was well and finally conquered.
Sylas felt that this was at least 50% of the story... but he knew that there was likely another twist hidden within. After all, the Sylphs didn't seem to be the only Race vying for Earth with what he had learned about the Thryskai. And, compared to the Thryskai, the Sylphs themselves were just as pitiful as the Humans were.
It might very well be the case that something as valuable as Metarock... the Sylphs weren't even allowed to partake in.
Sylas' gaze flashed.
[How do I mine Metarock safely?]
[Metarock is a very benign, soft metal and is well known for its ease of extraction. However, because of its unique law absorbing quirks, it often acts as a foil for far more dangerous ores. Namely, Aether Stones often come hand in hand with Metarock, and it isn't rare for miners to lose their lives after digging an inch too deep.]
'Aether Stones!' Sylas understood what the Madness Key meant immediately.
Aether Stone mines were formed when Aether became trapped beneath the surface. It tried to push its way through to the air, but ended up saturating the normal rock around it instead. This was also why so many Aether Stones were highly pressurized. A single wrong move and it could implode in your face.
It was no wonder Metarock would force the creation of so many. When Sylas was done there just now, it hadn't even felt hot to stand on the Metarock because it had repelled even the laws of heat around this region.
The Aether couldn't make it through because it was being blocked by the Metarock.
With such a large deposit of Metarock, Sylas had a feeling that he would find the Gold Aether Stones he needed right here.
No, more importantly than that... he could upgrade the Basilisk King right here and now!
Sylas dove down to the Metarock again. His visualization rebounded off of it, as expected. Unless the Metarock was properly primed by a blacksmith Profession of adequate skill, it wouldn't start absorbing the laws around it. So of course it would reject even his senses.
However, Sylas had an idea.
He summoned Szorn.
"Szorn, do you have the ability to scan and deduce the situation in a mine?"
Szorn bristled, a ripple coming from it to protect it from the heat.
"Yes, that is within my capabilities."
"How much do you know about mining?"
"I am a Familiar designed to aid Rune Masters. I am capable of aiding with all tasks similar and related to relevant Professions. Alchemy and blacksmithing are, of course, part of this."
It was a long-winded way to say yes, but Sylas actually quite appreciated the answer. This meant that not only could he rely on Szorn to identify ores and navigate mines, but he could do the same with Aether Herbs and things of the like.
Considering Szorn had also been able to communicate with the Rune Mastery Guild that was who knows how far away to get a copy of the current Breath Master List, Sylas knew that it was about time he lean on this Familiar a bit more.
Within reason, of course... that was because Sylas had a feeling that Szorn would definitely put any command Gralith had given him above his own.
"Guide me here. There is likely an Aether Stone mine below this Metarock deposit that I need
to get to."
"Metarock!" Szorn finally paid attention to its surroundings and was taken aback. However, it quickly composed itself, but this alone told Sylas all he needed to know about the value of this ore. "There's no need for you to worry about this, young master. If you supply me with Aether Stones, I can do these sorts of tasks for you. But since there is likely a deposit here, I will handle everything."
Sylas' brows raised as Szorn actually got to work. He had never thought that this was possible because Szorn was more illusion than real. In fact, if he reached out, he could probably pass a
hand right through this Familiar.
Szorn disappeared, passing through the Metarock as though it wasn't even there and confirming Sylas' speculation, but a moment later, there was a calm and even hole formed, so perfect it looked completely unnatural.
The lava tried to rush into it, but it was seemingly blocked by Szorn itself.
Then, the Familiar appeared once more, holding a bundle of shimmering gold Aether Stones.
Sylas' pupils constricted. He had severely underestimated the value of this casual gift Gralith
had given him.
What he didn't know was that there were only a handful of Rune Masters in this galaxy with a Familiar. In terms of value... they were worth about the same as an entire World of equivalent
Grade.